We Have a Son!!

We are sooo thrilled to have received the referral for our son!! We set out on this journey expecting to go from a family of 4 to a family of 6 overnight.  While we still plan on “making it 2 less orphans & 2 more Jenkins” it looks like we are going to do it one at a time.  Changes at the US embassy in Ethiopia along with other factors contributed to this change of plans but I’ll get on to the reason you all are reading…our son!

Thursday Dan was at work and I was teaching a nursing clinical at a downtown hospital.  I walked to the local farmers market in the cold to get a yummy lunch and was trying to find a quiet place to eat when I checked my phone only to find a missed call from our agency.  Last Wednesday marked our dossier being in country 6 months, the day had passed with a little disappointment that we still had no referral.  So of course I called our coordinator back immediately.  We discussed a few things and she said, “Well I have a little boy who needs a home.”  “Well, we want to give him one!"  I told Lesley I’d go plug my computer in and call her right back.  I found a tiny room in the back of the medical library and plugged my computer in (it took forever to come on and load my email!!).  I called Dan and caught him up to speed and we conference called Lesley (Yay for iphones).  By this time Dan’s email was already up and I could hear his enthusiasm as he went on about how cute our little boy is.  My email FINALLY loaded and I got my first look at our little guy.  He’s currently about 4 months old and in an orphanage about 8 hours from the capital.  We went over some things about his short little life and excitedly accepted the referral. 

This day has long been anticipated and I had imagined how I would feel in those moments. The happiness, anticipation, and gratefulness to our God, an amazing provider, was overwhelming.  He is so precious.  He has curly hair, chubby cheeks, and lips that kind of look like our oldest daughter’s.  We can’t publicly post pictures of him until he’s legally ours, but if I see you I’ll have his picture out before you can ask!  We have also decided what his name will be.  Officially, his first name will be Noah, which means rest/comfort.  We are praying those things for him while he is still so far from home.

When we got home Thursday we showed the girls his picture.  Bella Kate said “He’s so cute! Where’s his mommy and daddy?”  I explained to her that I am his mommy and Dan is his daddy.  She looked at me like I was crazy! But now when she walks past his picture on the fridge she is very excited to announce, “That’s my brother, baby Noah!” Claire also learned how to say “brother” and I love that she is now a big sister!  We were not anticipating an infant.  We were really expecting a toddler.  But I know C is going to make a great big sister!

So what now?  We got our contract notarized Friday and mailed to our agency.  We contacted Show Hope and Lifesong, who have graciously partnered with us financially, to let them know to send funds to our agency.  Now we wait.  Again.  We should be “filed” this week, meaning our paperwork gets together with little guy’s paperwork and we wait for a court date.  Two to four weeks after we are filed we should be assigned a court date.  Then we will travel to Ethiopia and meet Noah!!! We will go to court and he will be legally our son.  (Insert WOOOHOOO here).  Then we wait.  Yep.  Wait.  Again.  Then he will get a new birth certificate with our name on it, a passport, exit/entry visas, and we will wait to be cleared by the US embassy in Ethiopia.  Once that takes place (8-10) weeks after court) we will go and bring him home to his forever family. 

I thought I would let you know what we are praying for our sweet Noah so you can join us in praying for him too!

First, he has to make the 8 hour journey to the transition house where he will stay until we bring him home.  This 8 hour journey is not like a ride on the interstate.  The roads are poor (as in dirt).  There are no car seats or airbags.  So please pray that he gets moved soon and gets there safely. 

Second, we are praying for a speedy court date! We want our little guy home ASAP.  Specifically, we are praying to pass court this year.  So not only would that mean going to court but that MOWA would have our approval letter in our file on our court date.  Without that letter, our case is not final. 

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.  We can’t wait for you to meet our son!

Almost in the "window"

Next week will mark our dossier being in country for 3 months!!! Yes, 3 months.  While I had hoped, against odds, that we would have had our referral by now, it wasn't super realistic of me.  But that's why we call it hope :) From the beginning we were told a 3-6 month wait for a referral is realistic but sometimes they come sooner.  The Jenkins don't fall into the "sometimes" category in this case.  Although, I would be elated to retract that statement if we get a referral before next Thursday! So with quite a bit of excitement we enter "the window" of 3-6 months.  We have been fairly warned that because we want 2 kids our wait will be closer to 5-6 months.  Doesn't make much sense to you?  Me either...at first.  We thought (with some guidance from those in the know) our case would go faster because we want 2 kids.  So if a sibling group came through we would be bumped up on the list.  While normally that's the case...there has been a sudden wave of families who want 2 kids also.  And 12 of them are ahead of us on the list!  While that makes me happy that families are stepping up and taking in 2 kids that don't have a home...I'm honestly bummed that we have to wait longer.  I trust that God knows my kids and provided just a time as this for us to grow our family. 

So to sum up, we're still waiting and we still need your prayers.  That God would prepare us for travel away from the girls, for bringing 2 more kids home, for the girls to adjust, and to be prepared for whatever comes with bringing kids into the Jenkins family that have likely suffered loss and are grieving and lots of other transitional things that comes with international adoption.  We are so excited and cannot wait to get them home.  We are hoping that God would allow them to get home before Christmas, but if not we will have Christmas when they get here!

So thankful for our friends and family who keep encouraging us on this long journey!

I600A APPROVAL!!!

Dan came in from cutting grass with the mail in his hands and said, "Be excited!".  I looked at him and the mail and back at him.  "How excited?" I had to clarify that we were on the same subject...sometimes we aren't :).  He just grinned and shook his head yes. And in the mail was a large envelope with the return address "Department of Homeland Security" that we have been waiting 6 long weeks for.  In the envelope was a surprisingly boring looking piece of paper that stated "NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION..." Some of the most precious words I have ever read!
So this means that we can receive our referral ANY DAY!  It could still be several weeks before we do but it is a wonderful feeling and an answered prayer to finally be so close to seeing the faces of our children.

An Officer and some CPK...not a bad week

So after almost 5 weeks, my impatience got the best of me and I called the good old USCIS (United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) to check on the status of our I600A.  And we were told that on the 13th we had been assigned an officer to review our application.  I was informed that it typically takes 1-2 weeks to receive our approval after being assigned an officer.  While I was hoping for something sooner, I'm excited to know something and that our case is being processed.  And we are still beating the average on the USCIS site, that says it is typically taking 75 days to approve them so basically don't bother us until it's been 75 days.  So I won't bother them, I'll just pray that the officer we are assigned is efficient and having a good week so we can get our approval this week instead of mid-June (which is 75 days from when they received our application).  The approval is at the discretion of each individual officer and my agency told me today that some officers have been known to deny applicants when the applicant calls too often to check their status.  While this is unfair, I'm sure it is frustrating to not be able to do your job because anxious parents like me keep interrupting your work.  Once we get the approval we can get our referral ANY DAY!!! This week our dossier will have been in Ethiopia a month and we are so excited to see the faces of our children!
In other news, California Pizza Kitchen is hosting a fundraiser for us tomorrow and is donating 20% of sales to those who bring in a flyer for our adoption.  While any fundraiser is super exciting, I love CPK and haven't eaten there in probably 2 years, so I am especially looking forward to eating dinner with family and friends around some incredible food! If anyone wants to join us let me know and I can email you a flyer!

Waiting is Hard Work!

It's been 3 weeks and 2 days since we went down to the Federal Building and were fingerprinted.  No sign from USCIS with our official approval.  This isn't unusual...I'm just impatient.  Each day when the mail comes I'm like a kid at Christmas.  I run out and filter through the bills and junk in hopes to see an envelope with return address "Department of Homeland Security".  So far nothing.  Our dossier has been in Ethiopia 2 weeks tomorrow.  And even though it is making it's way to to the top of the list, I have no idea of it's progress each day. I've never had to wait like this before.  Everything else in life had an appointed end.  High school and college graduation had a date circled on the calendar.  I counted down days to my wedding.  Even when I was prego with the girls and the exact date wasn't known, there was an end date.  If they weren't out by then, they would be evicted! There is no end date in sight with our adoption.  While that might be a little dramatic to say, it's just not known.  We could get our USCIS approval today and our referral tomorrow.  One family I've met since we started this process literally got their referral a few days after their dossier got to Ethiopia.  Or we could get our USCIS approval in a month and a referral in six months.  There are so many variables it's completely unpredictable from my viewpoint.  I'm sure the wonderful people at our agency are more aware and will have a heads up before me.  Thankfully, they don't share all of that inside info until it's certain we have a referral.  As if the suspense isn't enough, I would not want a lot of "possibles" and then disappointment. 
So we are waiting and praying (a LOT) and raising money to bring our kiddos home.  Until now, I have selfishly felt like I was somewhat in control of what happened in my life and that I had worked hard to get what we have.  This experience is knowing that WE literally can't do this on our own and are being completely humbled by asking our family and friends to partner with us.  And a whole new trust of giving our children, the adoption process, and the cost completely over to the Lord.  And no matter how much we think we are giving, we can't out give the one who gave His life for us.  He has given the ultimate sacrifice and I can't earn it or work for it.  It's a gift of grace. 
We are so grateful and humbled by our friends and family who are coming around us in prayer and support.  People who are sacrificially giving to help bring our kids home.  We'll never be able to express our thanks.  But know we love you and appreciate you!

Lifesong Grant & USCIS being processed!!!!

Today and yesterday have been super exciting! Today almost $900 came out of our checking account and I've never been so excited!  Our check for immigration went through, which means it's being processed.  We can't get our referral until USCIS approval comes, so we are thrilled that it's moving along. 

Yesterday we received a call from Lifesong for Orphans informing us that we have been given a $2,500 matching grant from Highview Baptist Church!!!  I'm not a cryer, unless I'm pregnant (which I'm not), and I cried when I listened to the message.  This is such a blessing because it does several things.  First, it involves our church, family, and friends in caring for an orphan.  Not everyone is able to bring an orphan into their home, but this allows everyone to help participate.  Second, it provides extra motivation since it's a dollar for dollar match up to $2,500.  If we can get 100 people/families to donate $25, it would double to give us $5,000!!! That's sooo huge. 

In case you are wondering about costs and how it works, let me break it down for you.  We are estimating that the whole adoption, including travel is going to cost close to $35,000.  We don't have that laying around.  As of today we have spent $10,012.69 of money we had saved and got back from taxes.  This covered agency fees, home study, dossier, authentication costs, and more.  We have given all we have. When we receive our referral, which we are anticipating(and praying!) late May or June we will have ten days to accept and pay the referral fee of $13,000.  If we do not have the funds, we cannot accept our referral.  This is where my anxiety level increases.  But as I give it over to the Lord, He is so faithful in showing me He will provide.  Like yesterday, through Lifesong for Orphans.  We are so grateful and thankful for this blessing.  After the referral fee is paid I can breathe a sigh of relief.  The rest of the costs are mostly travel related (which can be put on a credit card).  There will some other fees like medial exams, visas, and possibly another immigration form if our kids aren't siblings.  But nothing as comparable to the large referral fee.  Lifesong also provides an avenue for tax-deductible donations.  So if anyone knows a billionaire who needs to get a tax break, feel free to pass along my information :). 

Obviously, not everyone is able to give.  Times are hard and the economy is poor.  So, it also provides an avenue for us to let our family and friends know what we are doing and ask for prayer.  We desperately need our family, friends, and church to partner with us in prayer.  If you would like to pray for specific things, this is what we are praying:
      *Pray for our children that are not home yet, that they are being loved on and cared for.  That God will keep them safe and healthy while they are waiting to come home. 
       *Pray for us and for Bella Kate and Claire to be prepared to have two more siblings.
       *Pray for the Ethiopian government and MOWA(the ministry that controls when we get a court date).  There are still changes being made.  Pray our process will go smoothly and that our children will not have to stay in an orphanage even one extra day due to delays. (Just a note, a friend got her court date today, so I am celebrating for her and super encouraged for our process!!)
        *Pray for God's continued protection and provision over our family through this process.

If you or someone else you know would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help bring our kids home and have your donation doubled thanks to Lifesong, there are two ways you can do so.
 1. Make a check payable to Lifesong for Orphans and write "preference Jenkins #1981 adoption" in the memo section.  Mail the donation to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744
2. Use paypal to donate online by clicking this link: http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/donation.html

All donations must be received by May 26, 2011

We are so grateful for our church, family, and friends who are surrounding us with prayer, encouragement, and support.  We are blessed to be a part of a church who has a heart for adoption and partners with Lifesong to provide us this grant.  What a blessing the adoption ministry at Highview is in so many ways.  We love you and are thankful for you!

Officially Out of My Hands

My part of the paperwork is done! Our dossier has been submitted! It will spend the next few weeks being transported by FedEx around the country to be authenticated before making its way to Ethiopia. Once it's there it will be translated and the match process will begin! This part is way better than chasing paper work!

In the mean time our request to immigration has been made and hopefully within the next 4 weeks we'll receive notice to go get fingerprinted.  Then another 4 weeks or so later we'll get our official approval to bring our kiddos home! We cannot receive our referral until we get this, but they can begin matching us and the match pend upon us getting approved by the government. 

My agency told me today there have been unofficial reports that the Ethiopian government is seeing up to 20 cases a day!!! This is super exciting! I'm praising the Lord for this answered prayer! Way better than five...and actually close to what they were seeing prior to the change. 

So now we wait and pray for our kids.  I am so excited to hear who they are!  While that is at least a couple months away, I'll wait in anticipation, not anxiety, because I can trust in the One who created my kids...all of them.